Bill Fleishli

Illinois transit advocates are proposing a plan to fix the state's deteriorating roads through a new tax that would raise the price at the gas pump.

The Transportation for Illinois Coalition says the $800-million-a-year plan is necessary to fund needed repairs to roads, bridges and rails. The influential group is pushing legislation to replace the current 19-cents-a-gallon motor fuel tax with a 9.5 percent wholesale tax.